A Christmas we'll never forget
by toastyborg
Summary: Life with the mini Genos bots was interesting to say the least. But curiosity gets the better of them. Never mix Christmas trees with fire.
1. Chapter 1

Christmas. The time of year everyone tended to enjoy. A time when family's got together, children were on vacation from school, adults were doing their last minute shop, in store or online, regardless of the time of day and the weather.

It was mid afternoon, a fresh light blanket of snow covering everything in City-Z and other bordering cities, causing everything to look pure, clean, bright.

All around, the snow glistened and twinkled as it caught what sunlight was let through the yellowy grey clouds above, now and then. Snowflakes had been falling from the sky in a soft flurry since the early morning, along with an icy breeze that swept through the streets, turning water droplets to ice.

In the abandoned area of the city, two figures strolled side by side, hand in hand, chattering away about a cooking programme that the younger of them had taken an interest in.

"Achoo~!", Saitama sneezed, the noise echoing through the empty street.

"Bless you", Genos uttered as he reached into his hoddie's pocket with his free hand, pulling out a handkerchief that he carried around with him, and held it out to Saitama as they both walked home together. They were the only ones who ever walked the streets in the abandoned area of City-Z now. It wasn't safe to inhabit there any longer, but the two heroes and the eight new members of the family were the only ones living in the vicinity, those dangers not much of a challenge, considering they worked as a team, one of the males being the strongest in the world.

Gladly, Saitama accepted the clean and neatly folded handkerchief. "Thanks dude". He knew that the blonde only ever carried it on his person just for him. He faintly wiped his nose, then stuffed it into his own coat pocket, along with his hand.

"It's so cold out here..", he grumbled, feeling the icy air whirling all around him, causing him to shiver. Only his eyes, nose and mouth were visible, tingling from the wintery breeze. The rest of his body was concealed snuggly within many layers of clothing along with a woollen hat, as ordered by Genos.

Both men were on their way home from a brief visit to King's, dropping off his Christmas present of a new game he'd mentioned. It was the least Saitama could do for him after overwriting the data on one that King had spent months playing, before lending it to him. Genos had insisted he go along with the bald man just in case anything happened to him, ever protective.

"We aren't too far away, sensei. I will draw a warm bath for you when we arrive home, then start preparing dinner with the bots".

Genos turned his head to gaze at the other warmly, smiling. "We can have oden tonight if you'd like. We have plenty of potatoes, and we need to use the eggs before they go past their expiry date".

Seeing the other ogling him with such a look, Saitama felt his cheeks heat up, a faint blush dusting his features. "Sounds good to me. Just don't let Shi-"

"-near the cooker, I know", the cyborg finished his sentence off, a chuckle in his tone.

"That kid is too curious for his own good", Saitama stated with a gentle sigh, a tender smile at his lips as he remembered the day he first met them.

The eight boys had been sent home with Genos almost a month ago now after going for some repairs after a battle with a particularly annoying frog creature, and their lives had been turned almost upside down, better for the most part.

They knew basic communication, how to function, and were ready to absorb every new piece of information they could, their inquisitiveness at its peak, akin to young human children.

Dr. Kuseno had told Genos that it was an ongoing experiment, wanting to see if the bots could adapt to the human world, a trial run of his new artificial intelligence software, and who better to carry this out than the blonde himself. Using old disused parts he had stockpiled from Genos, the little ones were modelled after him, looking like mini versions of the demon cyborg.

Despite Genos declining such an offer, Dr. Kuseno had insisted. Thinking about it, how could he really refuse? The old man had saved his life, giving him not only the chance to seek revenge but to live as normal a human life as possible, a new lease on life. He couldn't possibly say no.

All the way home, Genos was regretting taking the eight back with him. He was anxious at what his boyfriends reaction would be, seeing their family go from two to ten in a day. The apartment was small enough with just the two of them. They didn't exactly have the space for one more, let alone eight. 'I'll have to return them and apologise to the doctor'.

Upon arriving home, Genos let himself in, seeing Saitama lean back at the table to see him enter a as he announced his return.

"Hey, you're back. All repaired?".

Genos hesitated a moment before getting into a dogeza position. "Sensei! Please forgive me!", he exclaimed, head down, which took Saitama completely by surprise, the bald male getting to his feet and walking over.

"Forgive you? What for?", he asked, regretting it as soon as Genos went off on a tangent about Dr. Kuseno's request so fast that Saitama could only pick out certain words here and there. He had definitely exceed his maximum of twenty words.

"Slow down, Genos! All I heard was repairs, Kuseno and bots. What bots?". Confusion was written all over his face.

Steeling himself, Genos stood and opened the front door to the apartment, standing back. One by one in an orderly line, eight little bots walked in to their abode, forming two rows of four in front of Saitama, who just stood there wide eyed, unblinking as he stared, mouth agape.

"Bots, this is sensei", Genos introduced. From what they'd been told by Genos on the way home, they were to show respect for their sensei and to protect him.

All eight pairs of gold on black eyes gazed up at the man. "We're home, sensei!", the called, with one of them replacing 'sensei' with 'daddy'. It wasn't missed by his seven other brothers, fits of laughter filling the hallway. Saitama wasn't the only one to blush at that moment, with poor Genos closing the door, his shoulder vents letting out some steam in embarrassment.

Saitama stepped aside as they then dispersed to explore the few rooms of their new home, leaving one still standing there. He was staring at Saitama in wonder. Tentatively, he stepped closer to the taller man, taking a hold of his pants leg in his tiny fist.

"That one is number six", he was informed as he leaned down, placing a hand on the blonde mop of hair, ruffling it lightly. This seemed to fluster the bot.

"Sensei, I apologize. I should have consulted with you first before I brought them home. I just didn't have it in me to say no to Dr. Kuseno".

Feeling Roku slip out from under his hand to follow his brothers, Saitama straightened up again, rubbing the back of his head. "Well that's understandable. Do you know how long we'll have them here?".

"No, he didn't say. He told us to care for them and umm... raise them, much like a human child. They are AI's, so they will learn and develop like a child would. They were a handful for him alone, and thought it would be better for us to handle them instead", he went on to explain. "However, if this is too much for you, I shall give them back to him right away".

"I think we should keep them".

The cyborgs eyes widened. "What? Are you sure about that?". He hadn't thought that he would agree to this so quickly.

"Sure. How bad can it be raising eight little bots?". Little did he know of what was to come.

When they were just a few metres away from their apartment building, an alert flashed up in Genos' HUD. His golden hues widened, a look of panic flashing across his features as he stopped in his tracks, scanning the structure with his eyes.

Using his thermographic scanner, he could see a singular heat source, gradually spreading within the living room as the temperature rose. He could also see the faint heat signatures of the eight bots still residing in the room too, appearing to be in distress.

Noticing that his lover had stopped walking, Saitama also halted and looked back at him, lilting his head in confusion at seeing the alarm on his face. "What is it, Genos?".

"There appears to be a rise in temperature within our apartment, sensei! The bots are still in there!". Saitama's breath caught in his throat, blood running cold. In an instant, both males sprinted towards the building.


	2. Chapter 2

Reaching the apartment, they hastily unlocked the door, almost breaking the key and handle in the process. The two burst through with Saitama entering first. As he stepped inside, his eyes went wide as the scene unfolded before him, froze to the spot in the genkan, door swinging shut behind them. Never had he ever imagined to see this sort of thing happen within his apartment.

What he saw from where he stood, was that their once beautiful fir tree, adorned with gorgeous decorations, was alight, the flames steadily working their way up the branches. The heat within the interior of their home was building slowly, making it a fraction harder to breathe. Saitama could most definitely feel it around him, moreso on his face than anywhere else, despite not being very close to the blaze.

Saitama had never faced a personal predicament on this scale before. Not only was his apartment at risk of becoming ablaze, but his family was in danger. He was so overwhelmed and gripped by fear of what could transpire, that he literally couldn't move, body locked in place. He could lose everything he knew and love within the blink of an eye.

A few of the bots were crying out 'fire!', frantically running about in a frenzy, while the other few were just gawking at the steadily burning Christmas tree, not sure on what to do as smoke was increasingly accumulating above their heads.

The putrid smell of the smouldering foliage and decorations was steadily filling the air within their apartment. Only Ni and Hachi had noticed that Saitama and Genos had returned home. The two ran away from the crisis within the living room and into the hallway towards the two, clinging to Saitama's legs, whining at him in a panic, yet he still didn't budge.

From the time they entered the apartment until that very moment, only a handful of seconds had gone by, but time felt like it had almost stood still, much like it was in slow motion.

Noticing that the bald man wasn't moving from where he stood, even with the bots at his feet, Genos leapt into action, teeth grit as he focused on putting the fire out to save not just the apartment but the boys too.

He pushed passed him and bolted into the kitchen, grabbed a deep bowl from under the sink and hurriedly filled it with water from the tap, water spraying over the countertops at the force of it coming through the faucet. Time was of the essence.

As he waited for the bowl to fill, he noticed through the window that Shi was beside the burning tree, curiosity having gotten the better of him as he reached out to touch the flames, watching as they lapped at his fingers. He was so close to it that even the tips of his hair were starting to singe.

"Move away from the tree!", Genos shouted out to them through the kitchen window, his loud voice startling them all, not used to hearing that tone from their papa. He almost broke the tap as he flicked it closed and removed the now heavy bowl of water from the sink, darting around the doorway, taking all of a few hurried strides to get to the living room.

The cyborg steadied himself, ready to throw the water just as the A.I's were scurrying away from the fir tree, with Roku deciding to cling to his papa's pants leg, observing what was going on from behind him, while the others tended to Shi's burning hair and slightly charred finger tips.

With a swing of his powerful arms, the water left the bowl with such precision that it doused the tree, a hissing sound coming from when the flames were put out. Luckily, the single bowlful alone was enough to put out the flames, thanks to it not being a very big tree to begin with; all of five foot tall.

Ni and Hachi continued to hold on to Saitama's legs for protection, feeling safe, when they felt him begin to move. From his silence and his slow pace, they knew that they were all in trouble. The duo skittered passed him and back into the living room to join their siblings now that it was safe to do so thanks to Genos.

Now that the fire was out, the cyborg found himself panting faintly from the adrenaline he felt. It took Genos all of two seconds of staring wordlessly at the tree, before he blinked. They had come so close to losing everything. He lowered the bowl, watching the water soaking the wood beneath the blackened and dead tree. The room had fallen silent apart from droplets of water dripping onto the floorboards.

Genos didn't even need to scan the fir tree to tell him that almost 86% of it was all but destroyed, decorations and all. All but the top of the tree, the foliage browning, the star on the tip now partially melted.

As he surveyed the destruction, lips pressed into a thin line, he felt a light tug at his pants leg. Looking down, his eyes met those of Roku, the little bot about ready to cry, oil beginning to pool in the corners of his eyes as he pouted. Genos opened his mouth to say something a few times, but nothing came out, at a loss for what to say.

Turning his head, he saw that the other seven bots were huddled in the corner of the room by the wardrobe door, watching in trepidation.

"We're sorry, Papa", a meager voice came from below. With his attention back on Roku, Genos hesitated momentarily before picking him up and holding him close to his chest, the boy clinging to him around his neck as Genos nuzzled into the boys synthetic blonde hair. "You scared us...", the older blonde whispered, his hold on the little one tightening a fraction.

The creak of the floorboards near the entrance to the living room caught Genos' attention, lifting his head from Roku's hair. He had almost forgotten that Saitama was there. Now, all nine pairs of golden eyes were focused on brown hues.

"..how did this happen?", he questioned, to no one in particular, yet he cast a glance at each boy, in the hopes of an answer. However, none of the bots answered, just staring nervously back at the bald male, afraid of what their father would say. Usually, they would give away who had done it, but this circumstances that they had now created was much worse than previous ones. This had been a particularly serious one indeed.

Genos could detect the air around the family growing tense as the silence was prolonged, making him feel uneasy. This was the first time the bots had done something so dangerous before. He could sense that they seemed afraid of the consequences of a possible discipline. He would've felt the same if he was in their shoes.

Seconds ticked by, with Saitama still awaiting an answer. "Well?". His patience was definitely wearing thin. One of them, San, the more timid one, uttered an almost inaudible "we're sorry, sensei".

When the older male heard the voice, his eyes locked on to that bot with a frown, causing the little one to shrink back under such an intense gaze, giving a small whimper.

Seeing this, Genos felt an instinct bubble within him, a need to protect the bots. "Sensei, he was merely apologising. There's no need to look at him like that".

The scrutinising look was then upon the teen in an instant. If looks could kill, Genos would've fallen right then and there. "Genos, they nearly burnt the entire apartment! We could've lost them! We could've lost everything! They need to realise the severity of their actions!".

He may have regretted raising his voice like that, but he wasn't as angry as he could have been. No. It definitely wasn't anger. He was terrified as to what _could_ have happened to the eight AI's he was raising.

' _So that's it_ ', Genos thought to himself, seeing right through his boyfriend. Saitama had been scared about losing the octet, not just his apartment. He could see it in those brown eyes. "Sensei, please, lower your voice. Everything is alri-".

"It's not alright though! Look at this mess! What would have happened if we hadn't come back when we did, huh? The whole damn place would've been ablaze! There might not have even been anything left of these guys when we returned! What they did was stupid!", Saitama exclaimed, hands balled into fists. It was obvious he was getting worked up even more.

Turning to face the mini bots, Genos leaned forwards, carefully putting Roku down before facing Saitama again. Roku toddled the short distance to his brothers, all of them remaining in a huddle up the corner, with Genos stood between them and the bald male.

"Sensei, please see reason. What's done is done. I know that what did was wrong, and I'm sure that they have all realized the mistake they have made. We can always get a new tree from somewhere. I shall personally clean everything up and repair whatever is damaged. I assure you that it won't happen again", he told the other firmly, but it didn't seem to appease him in the least.

Saitama closed his eyes with a heavy sigh and a shake of his head before narrowing his gaze back to the cyborg.

"You just don't get it, do you? It's not that simple. This is _our_ apartment, and they are a danger. It's gonna cost money that we otherwise wouldn't need to spend. That, and if they keep doing shit like this, it's gonna be bad for my damn health, what with all the worrying. You said we had to treat them like real children, and I've done that. I highly doubt real human kids would set their parents tree on fire! They need a punishment, Genos, and since you're closer to them, you can figure one out, otherwise, you can return them back to Dr. Kuseno. You choose".

There was a silence weighing heavy once again in the apartment as the two stared at one another. Despite his best efforts to try and convince Saitama, it wasn't working. The hurt in those eyes spoke volumes to Genos.

He couldn't just send the bots back though. They had agreed to raise them. He loved acting as a parent towards them. And he knew for a fact that Saitama didn't mean what he'd said about sending them back. It was his anger that was speaking, not from his heart. They meant the world to him. To _both_ of them.

Unable to find the words to answer, Genos lowered his gaze, casting it aside. He didn't know what else to say, as whatever he said didn't seem to be the right words.

At seeing this reaction from his partner, Saitama turned away and headed back towards the exit of the apartment.

"Sensei, wait!", he called out, but received no reply. Concerned, Genos knew he had to follow him, to talk to him, resolve the situation and help reassure Saitama.

He cast a quick glance at the boys, still nestled together. "Stay there, I'll try not to be long and will do my best to placate sensei, but it could take some time. He appears rather shaken by all this". The octet nodded at him with remorseful expressions, watching him silently as he strode from the living room and hurried after Saitama's retreating form. He knew how fragile Saitama could be at times, and wanted to support him as best as he could.

Saitama turned the handle of the door and pulled it open, a frosty breeze ghosting over his face after feeling the warmth from the fire. Even wrapped up in thick clothing, going back out into the cold air made him tense some. But that wasn't enough to stop him from leaving the apartment. He needed to get away and clear his head.

By the time he heard Genos following after him, he was already down the stairs. The snow was still falling but it had slowed to a gentle flurry now, the sky above painted a strange greyish yellow.

"Sensei!" Genos called after him as he padded down the stairs. Despite having an artificial voice box, it still managed to convey those human tones. This time, it was distress.

Saitama's heart strings tugged at hearing this but he couldnt cave in to the teen. What had happened was not acceptable. He would _not_ condone this sort of behaviour from the bots, when it wasn't even his idea to keep them to begin with. They needed to do something, anything, just so long as it didn't happen again.

When he thought about sending them back, he was torn on what to do. He loved them so much. After being told to treat them as though they were human children by Dr. Kuseno, Saitama had taken to the idea like a duck to water. Heck, he'd even named them, much to Genos' surprise, despite their names simply being the numbers one through eight, but due to them being identical, it made things that bit easier.

Lost in his thoughts as he forged ahead, he didn't hear the other males approach behind him, snapping out of it when he felt warm metallic fingers thread with his own now cold hands.

" _Saitama_..", Genos uttered, voice tender and warm, causing the older male to stop in his tracks. It was the tone he used when consoling him. He didn't call him by his name often, but when he did, it seemed as though Saitama listened a little more intently.

Looking at the male beside him, Genos gave the males hand a gentle reassuring squeeze. He look just as distressed as he'd sounded.

"I'm sure they meant no harm, sensei, really. They're still learning. Please, come back inside before you get sick. Your body is losing heat being out here in the snow". He hadn't wanted to make up an excuse for what they had done, but what he said was truth. Like children, they were still learning about everything, along with their inquisitiveness.

Saitama let out a soft sigh, his breath visible as a small puff of vapour, his body giving the slightest shudder as the two stood facing each other. "They might not have meant any harm, or did it on purpose, Genos, but they've burned the Christmas tree to virtually a crisp. I could've lost everything in my- _our_ apartment... Including them... I thought you said we could trust them". His tone of voice sounded as though he had been betrayed. Saying this, he then turned to walk away.

Sensing his masters' frustration, the blonde gave a light tug on Saitama's hand, causing the other to stop again and turn to look at his lover, brows knitted, a look of disappointment on his features as he looked into Genos' eyes silently.

"You _can_ trust them, sensei. Just, please, give them time", he spoke in a hushed tone, feeling the need to speak quietly, as it was silent all around them. "As I said, they're still learning, much like human children do. They will have realised that what they have done is wrong, learning from this experience. I'm sure that it won't happen again".

Saitama rolled his eyes. "It doesn't change the fact that there's nothing left of the Christmas tree. Genos, if we hadn't gotten back to the apartment when we had, that fire could've been more serious. What if the balcony door curtain had caught fire too? Those guys might be learning, but not at the expense of our apartment".

The older male didn't like saying things like that, but what more could he say? He may have threatened it, but he couldn't never kick them out. He'd grown far too fond of the little bots.

He tried to pull from Genos' grip on his hand, but the cyborg just held on to his hand that bit tighter, tugging him a little closer, closing the distance between them. His other arm snaked its way around Saitama's waist. Leaning in, Genos rested their foreheads together. Smiling fondly, gently, he pecked his lips.

"Our boys would never do anything detrimental on purpose, sensei. They love you and don't like seeing you upset, especially moreso when they're the cause of it".

Genos' words rang through his mind. ' _Our boys_ '. He was still getting used to calling them that, the fact that they were now fathering the little AI's.

A life without the bots wouldn't be the same, regardless of the fact that they had only been with them for a month. Having Genos there removed the boring monotony of his life. He got to experience new things, new feelings. He was enjoying life again. But now, with the eight tykes there, he was getting a chance of experiencing parenthood with the man he loved.

A small smile graced his lips. "I love them too. I don't know what I'd do without them...".

"I feel the same about them. They've progressed so much in the last month. I'm proud of them. Well, apart from what's happened today".

"Sensei, why not give them a chance to rectify what they have done? This could be a big step for them after something so serious".

The idea was a good one and Saitama was willing to give it a try. "Fine. But hurry up, it's freezing out here".

Releasing the other, he took a step back. "Very well. Please keep your phone on. I'll call you when we're ready for you. If I remember correctly, the bookstore at the edge of the city should still be open".

"Got it". In a flash and a whisp of snow, Saitama vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Genos stood there on his own.


End file.
